What is a Heritage Yak?

What is a “Heritage Yak?”

A Heritage Yak is a unique breed of hairy, horned bovid meeting a specific set of criterion as established by the World Heritage Yak Conservation (WHYC). Since 2019, WHYC members have been working with The Livestock Conservancy to define yak as a heritage breed in order to codify the term in the marketplace and create the criterion that identifies the breed. Established in 1977, thus far, the Livestock Conservancy has defined "Heritage” for chickens, turkeys, cattle, and swine - and now yak.

How did Yak become a Heritage breed?

First WHYC validated the history of yak in North America, with original documents and the help of the American Zoological Association (AZA), Lincoln Park Zoo, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Toronto Zoo. Then the criterion for the Heritage Yak breed was created and submitted for evaluation to the The Livestock Conservancy. After several rounds, the Heritage yak definition was then voted on by the Livestock Conservancy’s Board of Directors, and the Heritage Yak breed was added to the the Conservation Priority List (CPL). While Heritage Yak are numerically Endangered, in the Critical category, as a new breed submission Heritage Yak were intially listed in the research category. Based on our continued breed management and research data, Heritage Yak were officially recognized as Critically Endangered during the 2023 evaluation of the Conservation Priority List by the Livestock Conservancy. We dont usually think of being Critically Endangered as a good thing, we are now recognized as on the brink of extinction. That is beautiful.

Heritage Yak breed Criterion.

The creation of the Conservation Priority List criterion, means not all yak are automatically the Heritage Breed, and there are specific criterion to be considered a Heritage Yak. WHYC upholds this criterion to remain in good standing with the Livestock Conservancy and to maintain the inclusion of Heritage Yak on the Conservation Priority List. These criterion can be summarized as follows:

Pedigreed.

• A Known Pedigree of foundation yak going back 3-7 generations,

• Genetic verification of parentage.

• An Historic Genome that dates back to the turn of the 19th Century in North America, originating in the Tibetan highlands and surrounding Himalayan alps prior to 1895.

Pure blood, Seed Stock.

• These yak exhibit No Hybridization with cattle. Impurity testing indicates low cattle introgression in genetic testing. Impurity testing also indicates ancient introgression. We are low in both.

Intentionally Bred.

• Intentional Breeding is required to be considered for distiniction as a Heritage Yak, and no offspring resulting from mulit-sire/mixed herd breeding practices will be eligible for WHYC registration.

To learn if your yak qualifies as a Heritage Yak breed, or to be put in contact with a Heritage Yak breeder, please contact us at info@heritageyak.com.

What Are Heritage Breeds?

In a more general sense, Heritage is an umbrella term that embraces breeds of livestock and poultry with deep histories in the United States. Like all Heritage breeds, yak date back over 100 years in North America and demonstrate many domesticated uses during this time. These are animals that were bred over time to develop traits that made them distict from yak that were indiscrimanently bred. Because these breeds have been developed and selected over time, they tend to have better disease resistance, are well-adapted to their environments, and thrive in pasture-based settings.

These breeds were carefully selected and bred over time to develop traits that made them well-adapted to the local environment and they thrived under farming practices and cultural conditions that are very different from those found in modern facrtoryagriculture.

- The Livestock Conservancy

Heritage Yak’s Meaning for Conservation.

Traditional, historic breeds retain essential attributes for survival and self-sufficiency – fertility, foraging ability, longevity, maternal instincts, ability to mate naturally, and resistance to diseases and parasites.

“Heritage animals once roamed the pastures of America’s pastoral landscape, but today these breeds are in danger of extinction. Modern agriculture has changed, causing many of these breeds to fall out of favor. Heritage breeds store a wealth of genetic resources that are important for our future and the future of our agricultural food system.”

- The Livestock Conservancy

There is currently a Species Extinction Crisis occurring in the US and World Wide. A limited number of breeds are used in large scale agriculture which is speeding our loss of genetic diversity. These industry animals have been specifically selected for intensive production including: rapid growth, feed efficiency, continuous milk or egg production, or other targeted production characteristics. Heritage Yak have genetics that are more “well-rounded” and do not exhibit many of the problems that occur as a result of industry breeding, such as inbreeding, difficulty in birthing, loss of maternal instincts, inability to mate naturally, lower intelligence, antibiotic dependent immune systems, etc. While breeders may select their animals for certain characteristics, they’re not selected so narrowly so as to lose other valuable and biologically important characteristics. To learn more about our recommended breeding practices see “Breeding Best Practices” here.

If you are interested in helping to preserve the Heritage Yak breed for the future generations, and end domestic and wild extinction, Please become a member and Adopt A Yak.

To learn if your yak qualifies as a Heritage Yak breed, or to be put in contact with a qualified endangered heritage yak breeder, please contact our Registrar, Jana Francis, at registrar@heritageyak.com.